Serena Edges Vika in Epic US Open Final

US OPEN
New York, NY, USA
August 27-September 9, 2012
$11,517,008/Grand Slam
Hard/Outdoors

Results – Sunday, September 9, 2012
Singles – Final
(4) Serena Williams (USA) d. (1) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 62 26 75

Doubles – Final
(2) Errani/Vinci (ITA/ITA) d. (3) Hlavackova/Hradecka (CZE/CZE) 64 62

Mixed Doubles – Final
Makarova/Soares (RUS/BRA) d. (4) Peschke/Matkowski (CZE/POL) 67(8) 61 1210 (Match TB)

Final Facts
- Williams wins her 15th Grand Slam title (and is now 15-4 in Grand Slam finals); she remains at No.4 on the Open Era list for Grand Slam titles (Graf is No.1 with 22 while Evert and Navratilova are tied for No.2 with 18 each).
- Williams’ 15 Grand Slam titles are made up of five Australian Opens (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010), one French Open (2002), five Wimbledons (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012) and four US Opens (1999, 2002, 2008, 2012).
- Williams improves to 10-1 head-to-head against Azarenka, although just barely – Azarenka led 5-3 in the third set before Williams won four games in a row to prevail.
- Williams has now won 43 of her last 45 matches (the only losses since the beginning of April coming to Razzano at the French Open and to Kerber in Cincinnati).
- Williams has now won 14 matches in a row against Top 5 players, 10 matches in a row against Top 2 players and five matches in a row against No.1s; she is now also tied with Davenport at No.2 for most wins over No.1s with 15 (Navratilova has 18).
- Williams is the fifth woman in the Open Era to win multiple Grand Slam titles as a 30-something, having now won Wimbledon and the US Open this year as a 30-year-old; Court and Navratilova won three in their 30s while King and Evert won two.
- Azarenka is now 1-1 in Grand Slam finals (she won the Australian Open this year).
- Azarenka had by far her best US Open result this fortnight, having never been to the quarterfinals before (this year she completed her Grand Slam quarterfinal collection, having been to the quarterfinals of the other three already).
- Azarenka and Williams stay at No.1 and No.4 on the post-US Open rankings this week.
- Errani and Vinci had already become the first all-Italian duo in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam doubles title by winning the French Open earlier this year, and now they add a second Grand Slam title to their names; they have now won eight WTA doubles titles this year and 13 overall (also two in 2010 and three in 2011).
- Errani and Vinci rise to No.1 and No.2 on the post-US Open doubles rankings this week, career-highs for both – and Errani is the second Italian ever to rank No.1 in either singles or doubles (Pennetta spent 18 weeks as No.1 in doubles last year).
- Makarova and Soares saved two match points in the match tie-break of their win over Peschke and Matkowski in the mixed doubles final (down 9-8 and 10-9); Makarova comes away with her first Grand Slam title of any kind; Soares as well.

Final Quotes
Serena Williams: “I was serving at 3-5; at 30-all I figured I could serve that game out and just make her serve for it. It’s the least I could have done. And I hadn’t been holding my serve very well. After that I thought I could just force another game – and obviously I never give up. I never, never quit. I have come back so many times in so many matches. I wasn’t too nervous. I competed really well. I never stopped competing, no matter what, and sometimes if you can just go out and compete, then you can continue to do well.

“I came into the summer knowing it was going to be a long summer, but I could do well if I just put my mind to it. I knew I could just be a good player and a champion this summer, but I never expected to win all these titles. Everything has been so amazing.”

Victoria Azarenka: “For me she’s the greatest player of all time. She took the game to the next level. Having players like that on the women’s tour right now is something priceless – something you cannot take away. Today I was close. I’m for sure going to have another opportunity to make something better. That’s what I’m looking for.”

Sara Errani: “It’s a dream come true. Roberta and I have played amazing all year – making the final in Australia and winning in Paris, and winning so many matches on clay. We’ve done well on every surface. This is an amazing achievement for us – we hope to continue.”

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